Millions of iPhone and iPad owners in the UK filed the action, and after a trial, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) decided against Apple.
In a decision that potentially result in hundreds of millions of pounds in damages, a London tribunal said Thursday that Apple had misused its power by charging app developers unfair fees.
Millions of iPhone and iPad owners in the UK filed the action, and after a trial, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) decided against Apple.
According to the CAT, Apple misused its power from October 2015 to the end of 2020 by excluding competitors from the app distribution industry and “charging exorbitant and unreasonable fees” as developer commissions.
Apple said it will appeal the decision, claiming it “takes a misguided perspective of the robust and competitive app industry.” Apple has been under increasing criticism from U.S. and European authorities about the fees it collects developers.
The people who launched the lawsuit had estimated its worth at around 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion). Next month’s court will determine the damages and Apple’s request for an appeal.
The decision on Thursday follows Apple’s complaint to European antitrust authorities on the terms and conditions of its App Store, which was filed in response to regulations intended to control Big Tech.
MASS LANDMARK LAWSUIT
The British scholar who filed the lawsuit, Rachael Kent, said Apple had generated “exorbitant profits” by snubbing out all competitors for in-app sales and app distribution.
When the trial began in January, her attorneys claimed that Apple’s “100% monopolistic position” gave them the right to charge app developers with exorbitant fees and tight restrictions, which Apple refuted.
In its judgment, the CAT said that developers were overpaid by the discrepancy between Apple’s fee, which Kent’s attorneys claimed was often 30%, and a 17.5% commission for software sales. Additionally, the CAT decided that app developers charged users 50% more than they should have.
According to an Apple representative, “this verdict ignores how the App Store helps developers flourish and provides users a safe, trusted location to find applications and securely make purchases.”
SUPPORT FOR THE ‘CLASS ACTION’ REGIME IN THE UK
Under Britain’s new class action-style framework, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year and has seen many multi-billion-pound claims approved for trial with little to no result for consumers so far, the case was the first mass lawsuit against a digital firm to go to trial.
However, a number of other complaints are still pending, one of which is against Google for charging app developers a fee for access to its Play Store.
That lawsuit is scheduled to start in October 2026 and will be tried in conjunction with a related allegation made by Epic Games, which is suing Apple in parallel in the United States.
Microsoft and Amazon, two other internet behemoths, are also facing significant accusations at the CAT.
In a statement, Kent said the decision “sends a clear message: no firm, however rich or powerful, is above the law” and demonstrates the effectiveness of Britain’s collective action framework.